Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: Peach Skin Penny Dress

Have you ever lost your sewjo, or just taken a long break from sewing after a really hard project? After spending months altering a wedding dress, I just needed a bit of a break from sewing. Alterations are not my cup of tea, so I treated myself to a well-deserved few weeks off.

After my sewing hiatus, I was ready to jump back in with a new sewing pattern I hadn't made before. The Sew Over It Penny Dress has been on my "have to make" list for a long time so it seemed like the perfect pattern to help me ease back into my usual sewing routine. 

After browsing the Fabric Mart website for the perfect fabric for my Penny Dress, I noticed this beautiful black, shadow blue, and off-white floral peach skin fabric. If you haven't worked with or worn peach skin fabric, you need to get some right away! It is the softest, most delightful fabric ever! It's lightweight and has a beautiful drape, but isn't see-thru!

In addition to my peach skin fabric, I also ordered some elastic, black pellon fusible interfacing, and the cutest little Kylie and the Machine labels! I've been eyeing up the "Circa 2022" labels for a while because I love the idea of dating my makes to be able to look back and know what year my me-mades are from! 

I didn't make any alterations to the Penny Dress pattern because I liked the way the pattern looked straight off of the printer. Since the bodice isn't very fitted and doesn't have darts or princess seams, I didn't even have to do a small bust adjustment. It's fun when you get to just sew a pattern without alterations! 

Everything went well while I was sewing my Penny dress until I went to insert the collar. The collar seemed to be about 3 sizes too large to fit into the bodice neckline and it just wasn't going to work! In an effort to try to fix whatever mistake I unknowingly made, I watched the free online Penny Sew Along. Unfortunately, it didn't help me discover what was wrong with the collar. 

Next, I joined the Sew Over It Facebook Group hoping that I would find another person who made the same collar mistake that I made. After a few searches of group posts, I found someone sharing about their issues with fitting the collar into the neckline. Thanks to this post, I discovered that I left out an important pattern piece in the bodice. I completely forgot to add the shoulder panel pieces that attach to the front and back bodice. No wonder the neckline and collar didn't fit! 

Feeling a bit like a crazy person and wondering how on earth I could have missed this important pattern piece, I spent about 30 minutes seam ripping in order to add these pieces to the bodice. Have you ever left out an entire pattern piece? I'm still not entirely sure how I managed that, but I'm so grateful for Facebook sewing community group members and their help! 

Once I added the shoulder panel pieces back in, the whole project came together really easily. It also came together rather quickly after the shoulder panel hiccup. I picked some beautiful mother of pearl buttons from my button stash, added my Kylie and the Machine label to the back facing, and attached the full circle skirt. 

I love how easy to wear this Penny Dress is. With the elastic waistband, loose-fitting bodice, and lightweight peach skin fabric, it could easily become my favorite dress to wear for hot summer days! 

It feels great to be back today sharing a new make with you after what feels like one of the longest stretches I've gone without sewing! Now that my sewjo is back, I know I'll be sewing up a storm in the new few weeks, perfect for using more of my Kylie and the Machine labels! 

SHAINA   @shaina_sews 


Unfortunately Fabric Mart Fabrics sell out quickly!
You can find similar fabrics by shopping the following category BLOUSEWEIGHTS.
You can shop our collection of Sew Over It patterns HERE.
And our selection of Kylie and the Machine clothing labels HERE.

Comments

  1. Beautiful! I love that dress!

    ReplyDelete
  2. So pretty, I like a nice shirtwaist dress. Great job!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's lovely. Nicely done.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Such a pretty dress and it is adorable on you. So glad you have your enthusiasm for sewing back in your life. Alterations can make for tedious times. Have a great summer.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a lovely dress and it looks terrific on you! Glad your sewjo is back.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Absolutely gorgeous! You have created a beautiful garment that fits perfectly and flatters you!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Celebrating warm weather with Spring sewing!

Hi sewing friends! I don’t know about you but boy, was winter cold and dreary this year! The weather here in the Philadelphia area has been slowly improving, but Spring sure did take her sweet old time to arrive. So by April, I was definitely in the headspace of needing to sew up things that were either bright and cheery or meant for the warmer weather I am very much craving right now. I recently purchased a few SewBexx Patterns so I took them on a test run to create some Spring makes. First on my list was to make a top using this absolutely gorgeous ITY fabric I picked up last year. I had two yards which was enough for a long sleeve shirt. I chose the Olivia top, which is oversized with a drop shoulder, has multiple lengths and a split hem. I think the pattern is intended for heavier fabrics but I was envisioning how lovely this top would look with the drape of ITY knit fabric, and it did not disappoint. It came together for me quickly and was a straight forward sew…and I love the br...

Made By A Fabricista | Chasing Time: My White Rabbit-Inspired Look for Atlanta Frocktails

For this year’s Atlanta Frocktails, I found myself captivated by a character who’s been quietly tugging at my imagination for years—the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. There’s something so relatable about his frantic energy, always checking the time, always running late. While he’s worried about being on time, I’m usually calculating how late I can be and still technically arrive on time. Spoiler: I’m often wrong. It’s a cycle of procrastination and anxiety that I know all too well. So when I imagined my look for Frocktails, I thought—why not honor the White Rabbit? After all, time has been chasing me too. But this look isn’t just about Wonderland whimsy. It’s also deeply inspired by this year’s Met Gala theme, Tailored for You, which includes a focus on Black Dandyism—a celebration of Black elegance, intellect, and expressive style. I’ve been obsessed with this theme since it was announced. As a Black creative, I find it powerful and moving to see style used as a way to reclaim...

Made By A Fabricista: Getting into the Spirit of Summer

I'm not gonna lie y'all, I had a completely different project I wanted to do, but that's gonna take more time, and I wanted something cute, comfy and fun to wear for my birthday on the 19th. When I saw this goldenrod & off white linen jacquard , I thought it looked a bit like the design on a Koroks body, especially Makar from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker! I started with the bodice from the free Elderberry dress pattern from Mood, but deviated for the skirt, it felt a little plain of a design, and I had scraps of a Korok fabric that I knew would be a nice accent with some cut out pockets. I've made these pockets once before, deciding the cut out was based on aligning with the seam on the bodice for how far in, and as for how low depended on where I wanted the pouch of the pocket to start. From there I cut the visible part of the pocket, making sure to match the curve of the waist and following the line of the side seams of the skirt, as well as cutting a facing to...